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Wicked For Good – "Something Deep Inside Of Glinda Is Not Settled"

Wicked: For Good director Jon M. Chu explains that although Glinda has accomplished many of her goals, "something deep inside of her is not settled."

The fall season will be dominated by Wicked: For Good, one way or another. The first film was such a massive cultural moment, considering that despite being heavily nominated in multiple categories, it didn't win as many of the big awards as anyone expected it would. Universal will push this as the Wicked version of Return of the King. We didn't give anyone their flowers last time, but here's the second time, so it feels right now. They aren't wrong. While both stories are very well done on their own, the full scope of something like this, or The Lord of the Rings, or Dune, doesn't really come into focus until the last film is finished. Both of our leading ladies are going through some seriously intense moments throughout the second half of the film. Director Jon M. Chu recently spoke to Empire and explained that for Glina (Ariana Grande), she has everything she wanted and accomplished what she thought were her goals, but something is missing.

"[Glinda] decided to stay, and she decided to fulfil her dreams and what she felt like she needed to do. That has grown in movie two," Chu said. "She's now become Glinda the good; she is now with the bubble and with the wand, and everyone believes in her and is looking to her. It's everything she ever wanted, and she couldn't be happier – yet something deep inside of her is not settled."

The shippers are going to love that line. Ephaba and her backstory were part of the first film; it was a major plot point for how and why she ended up the way she did, but in Wicked: For Good, we get to learn a little more about Glinda and what her backstory is. Chu explained, "We get to know a little bit more about Glinda, what her wound is and what made her this way, and we get to see the choices that she has to make. Sometimes it takes just as much courage to pop your bubbles – that you don't actually have to ever pop – to become the person that you need to become." Well done on the bubble metaphor, Jon. I expect we'll be seeing a lot of those before the end of the year.

Wicked: For Good – Summary, Cast List, Release

And now whatever way our stories end, I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend …

Last year's global cinematic cultural sensation, which became the most successful Broadway film adaptation of all time, now reaches its epic, electrifying, emotional conclusion in Wicked: For Good.

Directed once again by award-winning director Jon M. Chu and starring the spectacular returning cast, led by Academy Award® nominated superstars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the final chapter of the untold story of the witches of Oz begins with Elphaba and Glinda estranged and living with the consequences of their choices.

Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, lives in exile, hidden within the Ozian forest while continuing her fight for the freedom of Oz's silenced Animals and desperately trying to expose the truth she knows about The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum).

Glinda, meanwhile, has become the glamorous symbol of Goodness for all of Oz, living at the palace in Emerald City and reveling in the perks of fame and popularity. Under the instruction of Madame Morrible (Oscar® winner Michelle Yeoh), Glinda is deployed to serve as an effervescent comfort to Oz, reassuring the masses that all is well under the rule of The Wizard.

As Glinda's stardom expands and she prepares to marry Prince Fiyero (Olivier award winner and Emmy and SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey) in a spectacular Ozian wedding, she is haunted by her separation from Elphaba. She attempts to broker a conciliation between Elphaba and The Wizard, but those efforts will fail, driving Elphaba and Glinda only further apart. The aftershocks will transform Boq (Tony nominee Ethan Slater) and Fiyero forever, and threaten the safety of Elphaba's sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), when a girl from Kansas comes crashing into all their lives.

As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.

Wicked: For Good also stars Emmy nominee Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James as Glinda's fawning assistants, Pfannee and ShenShen and BAFTA and Grammy nominee Sharon D. Clarke (Caroline, or Change) as the voice of Elphaba's childhood nanny, Dulcibear.

The film is produced by returning Tony and Emmy winning powerhouse Marc Platt p.g.a. and by multiple Tony winner David Stone. The executive producers are Stephen Schwartz, David Nicksay, Jared LeBoff, Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. The first film, Wicked, released in November 2024, earned 10 Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture, and won the Oscars® for Costume Design and Production Design. To date, the film has grossed $750 million worldwide.

Wicked: For Good is based on the generation-defining musical stage play with music and lyrics by legendary Grammy and Oscar® winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, from the bestselling novel by Gregory Maguire. The screenplay is by Winnie Holzman and Winnie Holzman & Dana Fox. The film score is by John Powell & Stephen Schwartz, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Wicked: For Good will be released in theaters on November 21, 2025.

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